Tag Archives: Venn diagram

Square Logic

Or do I mean Logic Square? Because it works either way. The Logic Square (or Square Logic) in question is a logic game created by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-1898) and introduced in his 1896 book Symbolic Logic Part I (a second part was published posthumously).

Dodgson was a capable mathematician, but most probably know him by his penname, Lewis Carroll, under which he wrote poetic fantasy fiction about a girl who goes on wild adventures.

But this is about his logic game. It’s like a square Venn diagram with game pieces.

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180 Years of Venn

John VennIn my family, we were rather casual about birthdays and other event days. It wasn’t unusual to celebrate a birthday, not on the exact day, but on a nearby day. We were fairly poor, so birthdays mostly consisted of a cake and a token present of some sort. (Put it this way: I can’t recall a single birthday present I ever got. We just weren’t that into birthdays.)

But I don’t recall ever not celebrating Christmas or Easter on the day. That may be as much due to my father being a pastor and having to do his thing at church on those days. The religious upbringing — and the strong streak of anti-materialism that went with it — likely accounts for downplaying birthdays and other gift-giving occasions.

Which is all to say that I missed posting on John Venn‘s birthday!

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